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Maidstone pubs |News


Brewers ‘investing heavily in future’


SHEPHERDNeame brewery has been synonymouswith theKent beer scene for more than 300 years, but they too have had troubled times over the past few years. But the corner has been


Landlord David Davenport has seenmany changes at The Flower Pot


We take pride in our range of ales


YOU cannot take your eye of the ball. That is the view of the landlord


of one of the town’s most success- ful boozers, which stands out for its beer. The Flower Pot, on Sandling


Road, is a three-times Kent Pub of the Year. Landlords David and Julie Davenport moved in to the pub in May 2006, and have seen a number of changes in their time. “There have been challenging


times,” David said. “Drinking habits have changed and so have the costs associated with running the pub – ourmargins are tight and then you have all the red tape, like a waste certificate that costs us hundreds of pounds. “We were the first pub to really


focus on real ale from around the country, but we’re always chang- ingwhatwe do and you have to be


on your toes.We are a proper beer pub and that’s what we pride our- selves on.” As well as the beer, the pub food on weekday


serves


lunchtimes and pizzas on Friday evenings, and hosts live music, in- cluding an ever-popular jam night on Tuesdays. “It was started two years before


we came here, and it’s still going strong,” says David. “It’s the longest-running one inMaidstone. “We don’t get a lot of passing


trade,we either have locals or peo- ple coming for the ale or themusic. “The internet is a double-edged


sword – it helps promote the gigs, but one bad review can make a lot of difference.We had a poor one on Google, so I contacted the person to ask why they’d given us a low score, but they never got back to me.”


turned, and they are now look- ing to the future, and investing heavily in their pubs. Aprime example of that isThe


Market House, in Earl Street, Maidstone, which reopened at the end ofApril after a £900,000, three-month refit. Pubmanager LouDavies said:


“Not being fromthis area, Iwas- n’t too familiar with Shepherd Neame before Imoved here. “But it’s great to be part of


such a historic company and to see the investment they are put- ting into their pubs. “The refit here is great, and


we’ve been able to work with our area manager to make this pub as good as can be.” The pub was previously


known as Earl’s and had a repu- tation for being one of the town’s leading music venues. That has been retained, and a newmenu runs alongside it. “There are somany restaurants


down this road, there’s little point us trying to compete with them,” she added. “Our menu has a lot of tapas-style dishes, with flavours from all over the world. “We only have three main


dishes and they’re all £10 each, and we also have a simple but tasty brunchmenu.


Manager Lou Davies “We also have plenty of


healthy options too, so we’re all excited for the future.” Shepherd Neame remains a


family business at its core, and chief executive Jonathan Neame hopes that refits like this one will benefit the company going forward. “We own a large number of


unique pubs in unique locations with great character and interest- ing histories,” he said. “Through good times and bad,we continue to invest in such outlets, whilst disposing of pubs that no longer fit our profile. “This continuous investment


and ongoing search for ways to enhance our offer and to provide an authentic, high quality expe- rience is one of the reasons why our business has survived for so long.”


Electronics and games ‘could play their part’


HYBRID pubs with more activities and games could become more prominent in the future. That’s the view of an industry ex-


pert, who points to the rise of bars such as Bounce and Flight Club in London. Ed Bedington, editor of TheMorn-


ing Advertiser, the trusted fort- nightly pub trade magazine with a circulation of 30,000, believes the marketplace is different from the one that he knew as a younger drinker, but insists that pubs can get through this. “The good pubs that are adapting


to the current trends are the ones which are thriving. Those who don’t


adapt are struggling,” he explains. “Youngsters these days don’t nec-


essarilywant to go out drinking. The first drink at 18 isn’t quite the rite of passage it once was – a lot of youngsters are tee-total and some who do drink are happy to pay pre- miumprices. It’s aboutmaking sure that cocktails look good and can be posted on Instagram. “The days of going out on Friday


and Saturday nights are not what they used to be. “It’s about making sure they can


get things when they’re out that they can’t get at home.” So it seems that drink prices are not the biggest obstacle to ensuring


that people come through the doors. Pubs are competing with su- permarkets on drinks,”Mr Bedington said. “But they are also competing withNetflix, cinemas and casual din- ing. People want to have great food and great drinks. They want to have beers,wines and cocktails they can’t get at home and a great food offer that can’t be replicated with a su- permarketmeal deal. “The smoking ban forced publi-


cans to look at other avenues and many of themlooked at food. Itwas an opportunity to offer good food without having other people sitting next to customers smoking.” Table tennis bar Bounce and darts venue


Flight Club are both based in the city, but there is no reasonwhy they won’t spread further. Mr Bedington added: “I think we


will see a rise in hybrid pubs, offer- ing more activities. I think we’ll see electronics and gaming playing a part too. I think these things can be a bit cyclical, and the next genera- tionmay be into drinking again. “The Millennials seem to be re-


belling against their parents, so per- haps the next generation will drink as their parentsmay not have done somuch.” TheMorning Advertisermerged in


recent years with The Publican newspaper.


Maidstone Weald May 2018 19


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